Part 3 of 3: City Council Unanimously Approves Preserve Burbank's Appeal for Denial of a Proposed Home at 2619 Joaquin Dr.

After an exhausting 3 HOUR series of presentations, appeals, applicant statements, public comment, rebuttals, questions and debate, City Council voted to send this project back to the drawing table for major revisions and resubmission to the planning department. Council Member Emily Gabel Luddy, in a reply email to one of our Preserve Burbank members wrote, "The primary issues for me were privacy, scenic views and compatibility. These findings were not supported by the record. I couldn't make them."

The appeal hearing began with a City of Burbank Senior Planner, Brian Foote's presentation of the decision by the Planning Department to approve the project in January of 2015. Mr. Foote was followed by a Powerpoint presentation by the first appellant, Fidel Fayad, the owner of the property at 2629 Joaquin. Fidel and his family will be the most effected by this project and he had previously been denied in his appeal of this project by the Planning Board late in 2015.

Jim Casey, who filed the appeal on behalf of Preserve Burbank, made a 15 minute Powerpoint presentation covering in detail what we believed to be the 5 failures of the required findings necessary to approve a Hillside Development Permit. Sue Cleereman also made a 5 minute Powerpoint presentation comparing the contradictory findings between this project (which was approved) and another that was rejected at 2906 Lamer at approximately the same time. Several other Preserve Burbank members spoke in support of the appeal (to deny the project) during the public comment segment of the hearing. 21 members of Preserve Burbank also sent emails to City Council prior to the meeting to express their support of the appeal to deny the project. Thank you to everyone who attended and for your emails!

There is simply no way to summarize the entire appeal other than to say that it was fascinating, everyone (including the applicant who was denied) behaved calmly and a bevy of issues regarding the processes in the approval and evaluation process of the Planning Department were brought to light. Council Member Dr. Gordon was in rare form...

If you would like to watch the entire appeal or just some of the highlights, click on this link to be directed to the archived City Council meeting video: http://burbank.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=6&clip_id=7158 Fast forward to 00:36:42 to watch the beginning of the appeal. To watch only the Preserve Burbank Appeal fast forward to: 01:07:11 and to see the Preserve Burbank Rebuttal, fast forward to 02:10:13. Enjoy!

The Fayad family wanted me to thank all of you for helping them in this fight. They were feeling alone and hopeless before they found Preserve Burbank and asked us for our help.

WE REALLY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

COMMUNITY WALK-SHOPS BEGIN THIS SATURDAY

In case you forgot, Preserve Burbank was instrumental last year in pushing the City of Burbank to allocate funding for new Meaningful Design Guidelines for New Construction in our city. We haven't heard much about how the $100,000+ dollars have been being spent, but we are delighted to see the beginning of the Public Outreach portion of the process.

The city will be conducting "Walk-Shops" in 5 Burbank neighborhoods, with the first two happening this weekend. This is your opportunity to meet some of the consultants hired to help revise our design guidelines and share your ideas, likes, dislikes and concerns. There is also an on-line opportunity to share your views. Saturday's Walk-Shops will be in the Rancho Neighborhood and the Airport South Neighborhood. To find out the times and where to meet, click on this link to the City of Burbank website: http://www.burbankca.gov/departments/community-development/planning/advance-planning/burbank-neighborhood-design Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring your smartphone so you can take pictures to upload to the on-line survey. I only wish we had Preserve Burbank T-shirts ready for the event. By the way, how many of you would be interested in purchasing Preserve Burbank T-shirts if we had them made? Send us an email at info@preserveburbank.com and if there's enough interest we'll get it done!